NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > HURRICANE SANDY CREATES FRESH FOOD SHORTAGES IN HAITI JUST LIKE LAST WEEK AND THE WEEK BEFORE

HURRICANE SANDY CREATES FRESH FOOD SHORTAGES IN HAITI JUST LIKE LAST WEEK AND THE WEEK BEFORE

November 1 2012

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – There are no countries, simply none, in the Western Hemisphere that have suffered the way Haiti has suffered over the years. Beset with political turmoil, imperialism, poverty, crime, and host of other issues over the last two hundred or so years, Haiti has never really had chance at making it and that situation doesn’t seem to be improving.

Just a few years removed from one of the most devastating earthquakes in history, the nation is now having to deal with the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Unlike other afflicted areas, like say in the wealthy New York area, Haiti is ill-equipped to recover from damage caused by the storm, still recovering as it is from the earthquake.

In all, 54 people died when the storm with Haiti but more importantly the high winds destroyed food crops across the country making a food shortage very likely, something which could well cause more deaths. Adding to the troubles are unsanitary conditions which could exacerbate the existing cholera epidemic in the nation and make it harder to restore food stability to the nation, though to be fair that happened last week as well, and the week before, and multiple times last month.

Upwards of 70 percent of food crops were destroyed in the storm which is a lot when you are relying on that to actually provide you with food.

There are few supermarkets in Haiti which forces people to rely on food they actually grow themselves.

“Clearly poor countries are going to have a harder time recovering from this than a wealthy country like the United States. That doesn’t mean it’s worse in Haiti than New York because it is pretty darn bad in New York, it just means that recovery is going to be much more challenging. Luckily the standards are much, much lower in Haiti so the degree of recovery required is much lower,” said Scrape TV International analyst Gustav Hander. “Still, it’s going to mean that a lot of people are going to die, a lot more. In New York it’s pretty much stopped but in Haiti people are going to continue to get sick and die quite a bit and that is just going to go on and on and on until it doesn’t go on anymore. Hopefully other countries will help but that’s pretty unlikely I would bet.”

Other countries in Caribbean have been similarly affected but because they have money and tourists will recover quickly.

“You have to look at the earthquake recovery as an example of how badly this can go for Haiti. People got all worked up over helping and stuff flooded into the country and then everyone got bored and just moved onto other things. Most people this time aren’t even thinking of Haiti at all this time around and that means no one is going to help,” continued Hander. “Adding to that trouble is all the bleeding hearts in New York who are dealing with their own troubles right now. I can’t imagine they are too worried about foreigners right now, aside from the people who go on websites and make comments. Those people care but they don’t actually do anything to help, complaining doesn’t help.”

Sean Penn, it’s believed, is marching to the Gulf of Mexico with his canoe right now.

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent

NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > HURRICANE SANDY CREATES FRESH FOOD SHORTAGES IN HAITI JUST LIKE LAST WEEK AND THE WEEK BEFORE